Bombers gear up for season opener tonight

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This article was published 01/07/2011 (5247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAMILTON — They’ve heard the rumblings — that the man they are sworn to protect, Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB Buck Pierce, is a marked man in the CFL this season.

And so there are no illusions on the Bombers offensive line about the challenge they face here tonight as the Bombers and their oft-injured quarterback open their 2011 CFL regular season at Ivor Wynne Stadium against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (TSN, 5 p.m. CT).

“We’re aware of it,” guard Brendon LaBatte said here Thursday. “The word around the league is that everyone is going to be gunning for Buck. We’re prepared for it. We’re sure we’re going to see some looks that we haven’t got to discuss yet. I’m sure there will be a few new wrinkles Hamilton has in store for us.

“We’re going to adapt as best we can and make sure we keep Buck upright.”

Pierce has failed to finish 10 of his last 27 CFL games, felled by a succession of injuries: first there were some concussions, then a knee injury and finally a gruesome dislocated elbow in Regina last Labour Day that ended his 2010 season.

With that as the backdrop, it would only stand to reason that opposing coaches this season will be sending the kitchen sink against the Bombers quarterback in a bid to lay a lick on Pierce and establish whether all those recent injuries were evidence of Pierce’s fragility or simply an unlucky series of unrelated mishaps.

But it’s a delicate point. While everyone knows that football is all about hitting the quarterback as often as possible, it is an ethical leap to admit that you’re actually doing it with malice and intent to injure.

And so Ticats head coach Marcel Bellefeuille chose his words carefully here this week when asked if he’d be especially aggressive on defense tonight in a bid to test Pierce’s durability.

“We’re trying to get pressure on quarterbacks week in and week out,” Bellefeuille told reporters. “We want to play aggressively and get into situations where we can get at quarterbacks — plural. Regardless of who we’re playing.”

Bombers tackle Glenn January says that regardless of what other defenses send at his quarterback, he’s convinced that Pierce is more durable than his recent injury history might suggest.

“You’ve got a guy who’s had some freak injuries in the past,” said January, who will be making his first regular season start tonight since 2009 after missing all of last season with a torn pectoral muscle. “I think Buck’s a resilient quarterback who has excellent pocket presence.

“We always want to have 100 percent efficiency in protecting the pocket. But mistakes will happen and I don’t think there’s any concern on our part that he can’t take care of himself back there.”